Floreana
Those who wanted enjoy an early morning stroll were out with the Naturalists by 6:30am. They followed an easy trail behind the greenish-brown olivine beach at Punta Cormorant. They were delighted to find a group of four brilliant pink flamingoes feeding in a brackish water lagoon. We were delighted NOT to find a swarm of mosquitos this morning – despite the fact that it had obviously rained recently and all the vegetation was neon green, lush and exuberant. The cindery trail we walked climbed to a viewpoint and then descended to a gorgeous little white sand beach that is a favorite nesting site of black Pacific sea turtles. At least three female turtles laid their clutches of 60-80 eggs on this beach last night. The guides pointed out 6 fresh all-terrain vehicle-like tracks that came from the water’s edge to the dry sand on the upper beach – and then went back down to the water – and explained that the female turtles had spent several hours during the night digging a nest hole and dropping in their leathery eggs.
Following breakfast we boarded the Zodiacs and circumnavigated Champion Islet where we searched for – and found – the rare Charles mockingbirds which number only in the 100’s of individuals and are now found only on two small islets since they have been exterminated by introduced animals on the bigger island of Floreana. Sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropic birds and a few boobies also entertained us as we circled the islet.
We headed out again shortly to snorkel and did not mind that it was pouring rain as we were wet anyway. The ocean was clear and deep, the fish were plentiful and brightly colored, and the sea lions were curious and playful. As we spun and twisted underwater, the sea lions twirled and swirled around us, showing off their superior grace in the sea. Some of us spotted an octopus, a white-tipped reef shark and a moray eel.
In the afternoon I spoke about Charles Darwin’s short five-week visit to the Galápagos Islands in 1835; he actually only spent 19 days on shore in the archipelago! We tried to wait out a rainstorm, but finally gave up, put on our raingear and boarded the Zodiacs to land at Post Office Bay. Here we heard about some of the human history of the islands, and under the shelter of Susan’s umbrella, we read postcard addresses to consider hand delivering them. The rain finally slowed down as we headed out for either kayaking or a Zodiac ride, and those who took one of these two options were treated to a sea lion show, pelicans, egrets, herons and frigates and a fabulous orange and pink sunset bursting through billowy grey and white cumulus clouds. Spectacular!
